If anarchism is horizontalism and the political desire to abolish hierarchical systems of power, in what ways do the structures of power present in contemporary society influence our sexuality?

How can we then incorporate anarchy in our sexuality?

From the classical perspective, the main structure of power that anarchists want to abolish is the Government.

We can see that the Government is far-reaching enough to embrace sexuality, within ethics and religion.

Or, we can see that the Government is just one example among other oppressive structures of power to be abolished.

“Anarchism stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion and liberation of the human body from the coercion of property; liberation from the shackles and restraint of government. It stands for a social order based on the free grouping of individuals…”[6]

Not all anarchists agree in this area, and many who are not anarchists agree.

Either way, we want to be free, to be who we are, without oppression.

Sennett and Foucault

Since we want to abolish oppressive structures of power, we must talk about how to go from subjugation to POWER to the liberation of the BEING.

What is Power and what is Being? This is the area where existentialism and politics intersect.

Sennett, an NYU sociologist, talks about Foucault because he has the same interest in sexuality in relation to the concept of power and self-discovery. We have to deal with external powers to attain internal existential self-knowledge.

This text[1] explores the exploration of the theme of sexuality and solitude, starting from Foucault’s perspective on sexuality at the beginning of Christianity in Greece, to the solitude of modern life.

In other words, it is quite philosophical and abstract. And in my opinion: Euro/Phallocentric.

Sennett describes 3 types of Solitude. The victim, the rebel, and the different.

The victim and the rebel interact with an external power and dribbles with the subjugation to this power. In the contemporary solitary world, masturbation is confined to Christian ethics.

The different transcends power and practices auto-eroticism (one who excites himself).

This requires the liberation from Christian values, to reach a higher level of existential consciousness through sex. To transcend the external oppressive power and to meet yourself existentially.

Foucault and Hegel are probably the most famous existentialists who discuss the subject of Power and Being. In my opinion, the practice of their philosophy is very similar, only one is French and the other is German, so the tone of the texts is very different.

Foucault romanticizes this idea of transcending power. That’s why it works better with the theme of phallocentric sexuality. It’s a philosophical discussion that can be applied from intellectual autonomy.

(That French thing of smoking a cigarette with depth)

This is in contrast to Hegel, who many years earlier coldly describes a specific process of self-knowledge and recognition that is dependent on overcoming the fear of death.

That is why Hegel is best applied to the act of political revolution, which is not something we can achieve only with an intellectual practice.

So much so, that Marx used this basis to build a workable theory of the proletarian revolution against the bourgeoisie.

I, with a less phallocentric perspective / as a woman, identify more with Hegel when I speak of sexuality because of this.

Sexual liberation is not something I can attain by self-knowledge alone, smoking a cigarette in bed. It’s something I must fight for and risk my survival to attain.

Hegel and Judith Butler

“Subordination is the price for existence”

“The necessary maintenance of the subject is subordination”

“The body is a socially constructed phenomenon”

“The subject’s options are to exist and to subordinate or resist and sacrifice their existence.”

[2]

Euro/Phallocentrism: BUTLER versus SENNETT

“Establishing a common ground” is an illusion: Solitude

Both speak of madness and loneliness.

“The less social relations are embedded in the flame of nature, of divine law, of organic necessity, most people would be able to imagine themselves with a life separate from their social roles.” (Sennett)

Sennett speaks of the European man’s perspective of what’s natural as a neutral perspective:

ALL REFERENCES ARE EUROPEAN MEN.

Sennett speaks of the phallocentrism of other writers but does not mention his own reproduction of the problem. One thing that Foucault also warned us about:

“Taking a relatively short chronological sample within a restricted geographical area-European culture since the sixteenth century-one can be certain that man is a recent invention within it. . . “[4] (italics added)

That is not for sure. For many women, sexuality is an imposition made by men who dare to make statements of this kind. We must be careful about hyper-sexualization because it’s used as an instrument of violence and oppression by the prevalent power structures.[5]

A less phallocentric perspective would be Butler:

“Gender is a social meaning that sex receives”.

So Butler speaks of sex, and Sennett speaks of the sexual act.

WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE CONCLUSION OF THE TEXT TO READ ABOUT FEMININE MASTURBATION, AND IT’S A REFERENCE TO A MAN.

If we talk about sexual ethics and human sexuality and only refer to Christian European men, we should at least mention the problematic aspects of this act, and practice self-criticism when we reproduce this Euro/Phallocentrism. At least.

DIY workshop’s new project is taking place in Bahia, Brazil.

In the rural area of Sr. do Bonfim, Tanquinho do Poço, there are two families in need of help to build a healthy habitat.

The roof needs to be reinforced against rain, (Donated!)

they need bicycles for transport,

plumbing materials for water redistribution, (Donated!)

radios and batteries,

games, books and other non-electrical entertainment,

medicine and baby care products.

Brazil has recently gone through a drastic political shift with the impeachment of President Dilma. Social programs have been considerably downsized, and the most underprivileged families feel the change the most.

The help needed is not only practical and solvable with resources. Poverty affects the mind. The loneliness, darkness and isolation of the night has a deep and worrying psychological effect that goes beyond the need for electricity and appliances.

Because of this, not only financial help is needed, but also any other creative forms of support and solidarity.

For foreigners who are interested in traveling here to help, please contact us.

The leading Austrian right wing extremist Martin Sellner will be speaking at the Eldorado bookstore in Oslo on saturday the 27th of May. Sellner is the spokesperson for the “Identitäre Bewegung” a neo-fascist movement known as “identitarian” in english. Sellner is a formerly classical neo-nazi, but has now polished his ideas with bigger words and gone from “white power”- rock to slick youtube videos and creative stunts, but below the suface the content ramains the same. The identitarians are often associated with the “Counter-Jihad” movement, the base of Anders Behring Breivik’s ideology.

Eldorado is very familiar with the content of this event, but still think it’s a good idea to let Sellner into their locals. They say they want a “free and open debate”, but how can a debate be free and open when the entire premise is that Europe needs to be ethnically cleansed to be saved. They’ve yet to answer us on this.
We do not want this kind of hate speech and encourage you all to put pressure on Eldorado to stop this event from happening.
-Organizations that have events planned at Eldorado should cancel or move their events away from Eldorado to prevent giving legitimazy to fascist or otherwise right-wing extremist speakers and events.
-Publishers should drop marketing deals and any other direct involvement with Eldorado.
-Booklovers should buy their books elsewhere.

FAQ:

-BUT WHAT ABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH?
Freedom of speech is a good thing, it means you won’t be put in jail for having unpopular opinions, but freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can’t be denied a platform to spread hate-speech like in this instance. By giving room for events like this you are directly enabling fascist organizing.
Free and open debate is another good thing, but that and hate speech are inherently incompatible. It’s not only preventing the affected from participating in the actual debate, but also other debates. And just like we don’t need a free and open debate on whether the earth is flat or if it’s 6000 years old, we really don’t need a debate on racist premises. The identitarian’s premise is that the European culture and identity is threatened, and can only be saved by deporting everyone from a non-european background, which in practice would be ethnical cleansing.

– SHOULDN’T ELDORADO GET A CHANCE TO ANSWER?
We have spoken to them, but recieved no answer. If Eldorado drops the event we’ll drop the boycott.

– WHY DO YOU CALL THE IDENTITARIANS RACISTS AND FASCISTS?
A quick comparison between classic racist rethoric and identitarian phrases summarises this pretty easily
* The identitarian phrase is “ethnopluralism”:
Identitarians claim to be pro-diversity and not racists, but their ideology of “ethnopluralism” is based on the idea of a diverse society where everyone stays in the same place and cultures don’t mix, or how classical racists would put it “one people – one country” or “Norway for Norwegians”
Phrase: “remigration”:
A nice way to say that all immigrants should return to their place of origin or like a classic racist would say “go back to where you came from”
* Phrase: “Identitarian”:
Identitarians often claim to be against racism, but their goal is to defend the “identity of white europeans” against muslims and non-europeans.

come make a zine together, talk about why we make zines, put some typewriters back in use, fix them, listen to punk, complain about the world, draw, write some stupid dark poetry and make some new friends.

refreshments available

bring typewriters! broken ones as well, we can fix them. bring old toothbrushes for cleaning.
old magazines, brochures, maps etc for collages………….

We want to raise awareness about alternative solutions to housing shortage and decaying of our historical buildings and monuments. The tourist industry is rapidly burying Amsterdam’s lesser profiled history and cultures; we want to invite you to come celebrate the squatting culture, as it has been a great foundation of what makes our city so interesting today.

Talk by Rianne de Beer Saturday 5pm:

Understanding value of cultural heritage

It is challenging to dictate value of cultural heritage on shared grounds. The significance of value in cultural heritage is grown, composed and forced by a complex system that seems to change its rules with every attempt to describe it. How can cultural value form a voice without exclusion? And how can the cultural voice of value be articulated vs. monetary value depicting personal property? If we want to preserve cultural heritage, whose value is it that we want to preserve? The discourse on these issues will be assessed and unveiled for debate during this event.

Rianne de Beer has a bachelor degree in cultural studies with a minor in restoration and conservation of cultural heritage. She is an assistant conservator of historical archives and paper objects and is concerned with archives from early colonialism to modern warfare.